Safe Haven

by Lisa Mondello

Or maybe she was now. She’d been shaken up pretty bad the other night.

  “There were no indications that this guy was violent. He’d never had a record. He’d sat politely at their dinner table next to Lucy hundreds of times. Hell, Jimmy had been to my house just as many times and I never would have believed the guy was capable of hurting anyone.”

  Daria went to stand, but with the boat rocking in the wake of waves created by a neighboring boat pulling out into the bay, she lost her balance and fell back into her seat.

  “The alarm system—”

  “It’s only a means of alerting us if George or someone else tries to break into the house again while you’re home. I don’t want your ex near you, Daria. Ever. I don’t want him to be within a hundred miles of you, if I can manage that. I won’t give him the chance to hurt you.”

  “I’m not Lucy,” she said directly.

  “I know that.”

  “And I’m not going to give George or anyone else the right to frighten me out of the only real home I’ve ever had. Even if I do leave, I’ll come home. Because my house is my home. It’s my safe haven. If you want me to put a restraining order on my ex-husband, then fine, I’ll do it.”

  “This is beyond anything a restraining order can do.”

  “What else do you want?”

  He knew what he wanted. He wanted to hold Daria in his arms. He wanted to keep her safe in his arms so nothing could touch her, nothing could hurt her. His biggest fear was that she would see this new alarm system as the safety net it wasn’t. It wasn’t going to keep George Carlisle or anyone else he might hire from killing her. It was only going to alert the police that someone broke in. And with a prayer, they’d get to Daria in time to stop George or his hired gun from succeeding.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Did you get the code from the kid?” George asked.

  The voice on the other end of the phone line answered. “Like taking candy from a baby.”

  “I’m not paying you for candy. This had better work.”

  “You’re not in a position to give ultimatums, Georgy. I’m holding the key to your future in the palm of my hand. Do you want it?”

  The quick laugh that floated over the phone line rattled George’s nerves. Mostly because George knew he was stuck. The only way to get this job done and over with was to play it out to the end. And he’d do it. He hadn’t come this far to let Daria’s boy-toy of the moment screw up his plans.

  He’d always thought better of her. There was a time when George would have laid the world at her feet. But she hurled it all back at him, wanting instead to live in that money-pit of a slum.

  George was better than that. He wasn’t going to let Daria make him live like the white trash gypsies her parents were. He’d thought better of her. But he’d thought wrong.

  “I don’t want any mistakes this time. I don’t need any more attention on me where Daria is concerned.”

  “You play it my way and we’ll be home free in a matter of days, Georgy. Don’t you worry. I’ll take care of you. Just don’t worry.” And the phone went dead.

  That was always when George started to worry.

  *

  The crew of workers had come and gone before they’d made their way back from the marina. It was just as well, Daria thought as they pulled into the driveway behind her truck. She wasn’t used to people parading through her house. She wanted to feel safe there again.

  “You’ve got twenty seconds,” Kevin said as they walked through the front door. “You punch in your key code and it will deactivate the alarm. Put on all the motion sensors for the doors and windows as soon as you’re set inside. Shut off the sensors for the rooms while you’re awake. You can put them back on when you go to sleep. Just don’t sleep walk or you’ll wake up the whole neighborhood.”

  She laughed, but felt a sense of dread consume her. It wasn’t about the house or her safety. It was about Kevin.

  She’d had a hard time thinking of anything but Kevin all day.

  “I guess now that I have this new handy, dandy alarm system, there really isn’t a need for you to continue watching my house. Is there?”

  Kevin cleared his throat. “This was a compromise, Daria.”

  “No one but you and Ski have this code?”

  “That’s right. And the alarm company. If it goes off, you’ll have a your own army of cops on your doorstep within minutes.”

  “What about you?” she said softly. “Will you come running too?”

  “I’ll be the first one. I’m not going anywhere, lady.”

  She blinked. “What do you mean? You’re not still planning on sitting in your SUV all night, are you?”

  He shrugged and breathed a slow sigh. “For a while maybe. Just so I know you know how to work this thing right. Just until I feel sure Carlisle isn’t up to anything. If me sitting outside keeps him from coming around and even testing this alarm, then I’ll sleep better. Even if it’s in the SUV.”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “No, what?”

  “I don’t want you sleeping in a cold vehicle anymore, Kevin,” she said, turning away from him. “You’re off duty now, right?”

  “Technically, but—”

  “Good. You’re off the clock. You don’t have to be a cop tonight.”

  “Daria—”

  “No, you listen to me. I put up with this little game because I thought there was no other way. George made some threats—”

  “Contracting murder is hardly a threat you ignore.”

  “I know. And I know it’s been as hard on you as much as it’s been on me. But this is a compromise. We don’t have to separate ourselves, have me be the victim and you my mighty protector anymore.”

  “Is that how you see this?”

  “Yes. I don’t want you to stay out there because you’re afraid something is going to happen to me. And I don’t want to spend one more minute looking out my bedroom window wishing you were here inside with me.”

  Kevin took a wide step back. “We’ve been through this, Daria.”

  She threw up her hands in defeat. “You can stay or you can leave. It’s up to you. For the record, I hope you decide to stay. But if you do stay tonight, I want you to leave your badge at the door, Kevin. I don’t want a cop watching my every move. I just want you. Stay because you want to, not because you feel have to protect me.”

  The heat flowing between them seemed to crackle the air. She was giving him the opportunity to have his life back and in the same breath asking, practically begging him, to stay and make love to her.

  In the instant she saw Kevin’s expression change, she knew she’d won the battle. He was going to stay the night in her house, in her bed. She’d wanted this from the moment she’d met him, she realized. No, not just the raw sex or the physical need. It was more than that. It was a connection of souls, something she’d never had with any other man before.

  Kevin’s arm snaked out and curled around her neck, drawing her closer to him until she was pressed against his chest. With a ragged intake of breath, his mouth came down over hers possessively, filling her. In his arms she trembled, both in anticipation and with the new feelings he evoked.

  “Close the door,” she managed to say. “My neighbors—”

  “I don’t care about the damned neighbors right now.”

  A giggle bubbled up her throat as he kissed her again.

  Clumsily reaching back, Kevin found the door and slammed it shut.

  “You may not need to worry about Mrs. Hildebrand, but Mrs. Parson’s notices everything that happens here.”

  “Who’s Mrs. Parson?”

  Kevin pushed her against the wall so that her back was flat against it and then he pressed his body against her. He was already aroused and ready for her. She could feel the heat from his body and the building of heat ready to explode inside hers.

  His mouth—oh, how it had taunted her all these days—made a trail of kisses down her
neck to the font her shirt as his hands cupped her breasts. It was all she could do to keep from crying out.

  Daria reached up and dug her fingers in his long, golden hair. It was beautiful and her fingers had itched to comb through it for days. Playfully, she grabbed his ponytail and pulled his head back. When he looked down at her, his expression was one of both surprise and amusement.

  She gave him a quick smile. “Are we going to make love in the hallway or do you think we can find my bed?”

  His kissed her again, delving his tongue into her mouth and lingering there. Her head spun and her knees grew weak. With every thrust of his tongue, deeper into her mouth, it brought Daria higher to a pinnacle of release she couldn’t wait to reach.

  Just as she thought she was about to die, Kevin pulled back and with a chuckled, he whispered. “Lady, I’ll take you anyway, anywhere I can get you. But I’ll let you lead the way.”

  Daria’s heartbeat was like a timpani, loud and urgent. Taking Kevin’s hand, she led him to her bedroom.

  She’d worked on that room first, filling it with all the little beautiful things that made her happy. It was private and intimate and no other man had been there. Except for Kevin. Something about Kevin being the first made the fact that they were about to make love even more special.

  She pulled back the white eyelet comforter, revealing crisp white sheets. When she turned around, she found that Kevin had already pulled off his shirt and thrown it to the floor. The elastic that had kept his hair pulled neatly back in a ponytail was also undone. Reaching up, she combed her fingers threw his sunlit hair, and framing his face with her hands, she kissed him, long and lovingly.

  Her hands needed to move, to feel the hardness of his body against the softness of hers. She ran her hands over his muscled chest, letter her fingers get tangled in the soft curls of his chest hairs. She made a slow journey down the length of his washboard stomach. As her fingers grazed the top button of his jeans, Kevin drew in a sharp breath.

  When he gazed down into her eyes, Daria thought she’d weep. She saw so much emotion there. Their union wasn’t just one of unfulfilled lust as a result of the game they’d started a week ago. It was of passion and trust. And she did trust Kevin like no other person she’d ever known.

  Reaching up, she placed her hand against his cheek. “I want you to make love to me, Kevin,” she said. She was gratified when he answered with a smile.

  Within seconds, they stripped each other of the rest of their clothes and fell to her waiting bed. He covered her body completely, pressing her into the mattress with his weight and kissing her until she thought she’d never take another breath again. His skin was hot and slick with perspiration as they touched each other everywhere, both taking pleasure in eliciting the desired response of a moan or gasp.

  With Kevin’s hand between her legs, he teased her nipples with a flick of his tongue, then devoured them with his mouth, until she wanted to die. Writhing beneath him as he performed such sweet torture, Daria urged him further, grasping his hips and lifting hers until they joined.

  He entered her with a swift thrust and they both moved until they found a rhythm. Clinging to him, Daria rode the first wave of her release. As she felt her body floating back, every muscle in Kevin’s body tightened. His thrusts were more urgent, carrying her higher and higher still to new heights until at last they both toppled over the edge to sheer ecstasy.

  *

  Kevin woke the next morning with his body still pressed against Daria, her leg tangled with his and her arm slung across his chest. Her smooth as silk cheek rested over his beating heart with her hair fanned out against his skin. It had been a long time since Kevin had felt that content.

  If he were a smart man, he’d have turned and walked back to his SUV, set himself up nice and comfortable like he had for the past week. Kevin was a smart man, but he’d been downright foolish where Daria was concerned. And foolish men got themselves killed.

  But he’d been looking into those amazing eyes, seeing the deeper meaning in the way she looked at him, the way her lips were slightly parted and moist. And he was thinking about how he’d do damned near anything to just lay here and look at her beautiful face all day. How the image of her smile had penetrated his every thought every second of the day since the moment they’d met. And how this incredible woman was asking him to come in her bed and make love to her. And he… Damn, he wasn’t going to say no.

  He hadn’t known what words to say that would tell her what he’d been feeling. And good Lord, she’d been sweet and hot and on fire in his arms. She was everything he’d imagined—and he’d had long nights of letting his imagination run wild.

  He felt a small cramp in his leg and had the urge to ease it out of bed but he didn’t want to disturb Daria. He didn’t want her to leave him just yet. So, he remained still.

  Outside the window, he heard the birds singing their morning song, but he couldn’t see them. Every once in a while he’d catch a shadow flitting across the window and knew the sun was coming up.

  “It’s a beautiful day for a sail,” she whispered, her voice groggy with sleep. He’d wondered what she sounded like in the morning when she first opened her eyes. And now he knew.

  “The birds are awake.”

  “The sun is shining.”

  Daria lifted her face to him and smiled. “What do you say we take a little sail?”

  “Maybe sail around the world?”

  Her eyebrows crinkled. “You mentioned you wanted to do that someday.”

  “Someday may be sooner than I thought. Think of it. We could sail down the coast to the Keys, visit a while with my parents and then head out into the ocean.”

  Daria lifted herself to her elbow, pulling the blanket to her chest with her other hand to shield her nakedness. “You’re still trying to get me to leave my home, aren’t you?”

  He tried to keep his voice lighthearted. “Actually, I kind of like the idea of having you all to myself.”

  “Where George can’t find me?”

  “That’s just an added bonus. I’d just love to be with you.” He reached up and kissed her lips, warm and soft. “Come on. You don’t think sailing around the world together would be fun?”

  She looked at him with serious blue eyes. “I’m not a gypsy anymore, Kevin. I’d love to go sailing with you some day. I love being with you. But I want to come home too. To this home. Please tell me you understand.”

  As much as he didn’t want to, Kevin did understand the connection Daria had with her home. There were a lot of things that grounded a person. In the short time she’d been living here, she’d dug the roots she’d never been able to as a child.

  “I tell you what. We’ll take a cruise out in the bay today,” he said, pulling her down on top of his chest. “And then we’ll come home tonight so we can continue what we’ve started.”

  Daria giggled and kissed him and he felt his head spin. He’d make it a short sail today.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The tulips she’d picked up at the corner florist were an extravagance Daria hadn’t allowed herself in long time. The prime rib she’d paid way too much for was definitely way over the top. But she didn’t care. She’d been thinking all day about how a candlelight dinner with Kevin would be a nice start to the week.

  The weekend had been perfect, from the sail to the coming home part. She smiled. Tonight would just be an extension of that.

  She told Kevin she would be late coming home from work, but having been able to run all her errands at lunch and getting all the pressing work matters piled on her desk completed, she was able to leave a few minutes earlier than she planned. Marla had been too preoccupied talking about a new guy she’d met at the gym for her to notice the goofy grin Daria knew she’d been wearing all day.

  Not only did she not have to worry about Marla hooking up with George, and possibly getting hurt, she was going home to Kevin. And for the first time in little over week, Daria wasn’t going to find him waiti
ng by the curbside ready to watch over her.

  Tonight she’d be inviting him in her home to be with her. Again.

  Things had changed between them.

  Daria had just enough time to prepare the roast and vegetables and get them started in the oven. She’d search her closet for something feminine to wear. Something soft and silky and loose. The fragrant candles she’d bought at lunch would look perfect around her claw foot tub. She would have just enough time to set them out for later.

  Anticipation curled around her, making her insides purr to life. And she had big plans for later. Plans that included lots of bubbles, warm water, hot flesh, and slow hands. Kevin’s hands as well as her own.

  Daria kicked the driver’s side door open with her foot and reached across the bench seat to grab the grocery bag and bouquet. She whistled with a smile that reached her face as she walked to the front door. It was going to take some time getting use to using the front door instead of the back door. But she’d get the hang of it.

  After she climbed the porch steps, she dropped the package of groceries on the floorboards. Then she wrestled with her purse and the bouquet in her arms as she unlocked the door. Headlights bending against the house told her someone had pulled into the driveway and had her filled with anticipation as well as regret that her surprise evening was going to be ruined now that Kevin had come home early.

  Home. She liked the sound of that. It was a little premature to think of anything permanent. But after this past weekend, they were heading in the right direction.

  Daria had already opened the front door and knew she only had twenty seconds to punch in the security code number to prevent the alarm from sounding. All she needed was a neighbor calling the police. Not now. The last thing she wanted was a whole fleet of cops traipsing through her house tonight. She only wanted one cop and that was Kevin. And she was determined that he was leaving his badge at the door.

  Daria quickly punched in the security code numbers. By the time she got back to the door, she heard the sound of shoes on the porch. She pushed through the screen door, with her heart smiling. And then it collapsed.